308 Marlin Express in a Handi

[carbineman]

What are your thoughts on this rimmed cartridge that Hornady and Marlin have teamed up to produce for the lever action Marlin? Being a fan of rimmed cartridges for the Handi, I think this would work quite well. Ballistics on par with the .308 Winchester, and 1000 ft lbs of energy at 300 yards.

This went on the wish list for me.

[Mac11700]

In a Marlin lever gun..it makes more sense...because of them wanting to bring more power to their lever guns..in a needed platform ...the rimmed case...We already have the 308 in the Handi...as well as the 30-06...so...for a rimmed version of the 308 in a Handi..the 307 would make way more sense...but heck...just because something wasn't wanted or needed or makes sense doesn't deter NEF these days...You can duplicate the 307 factory loads and then some...you can't with the 308 Express with it's shortened  case...and proprietary powders that you'll never be able to use...or the Hornady bullet that isn't available to be hand loaded...which by the way isn't nearly as good as some of the others that you can load for a single shot rifle........But...hey...if you want one...It's what ever makes you happy...what ever floats your boat...whatever trips your trigger...or brings a smile to your face...  and  doesn't have to make sense to anyone but you and NEF...

Mac

[LEO]

I have completely changed my mind about the 308 Marlin.  When I first heard about it, I thought, I've got to have one of those then I started to learn a little more about it and I began to wonder.  Now that I have the facts that I do, I don't have any interest in it at all.  It appears to me that without the magic powder that Hornady is using you are going to gain very little if anything over the 30-30 AI unless of course you don't reload or are only interested in shooting factory ammo.  Another thing that changed my mind is I finally was able to find a Savage 99F in 308 in a condition that was satisfactory, at a price I could afford.  Out of a Handi, the only justification I can see for the 308 Marlin is because you want one, which is justification enough.

[kennyd]

Is the .308 Marlin rimmed?  I looked and could not find specs, but thought it was rimless.  It is so close to a .300 Savage you can't tell the difference in the charts.  Of course if Marlin had chambered the .300 someone would use a pointed bullet.  A 30-30 has thin brass to start with, so the AI does lessen the life of the case.  If you are having to get a rechamber anyway, how about the .30-40?

[Mac11700]

A 30-30 has thin brass to start with, so the AI does lessen the life of the case.

Only if it is full length resized every time...and not if the chamber was done correctly with properly sized cases it won't...Sorry...I just couldn't help myself....

Mac

[Swampman]

"If you are having to get a rechamber anyway, how about the .30-40?"

IMO the .30-40 is the perfect .30 caliber cartridge for the Handi.  I just can't bring myself to rechamber my .30-30.  It's a case of...

"Perfection is the enemy of good enough."

[captdp]

I see two complications for single shots and another for lever actions. First only ammo from Hornady will be avaliable and with no competition it'll probly be a little more expensive. Second, It uses the propriatory light mag powders to get the velocity and won't be duplicatable by hand loaders. Thirdly for lever actions, only Hornady makes the lever-evelution soft poly-tips and they are not avaliable to reloaders. All that said, I'd love to have a 24" barrel flat shooting lever action. capt david

[Swampman]

I'd like to have a 16 1/2" barreled .45-70 Marlin.

What we really needed was a rimmed .338 or .35 caliber round to replace the .35 Remington.  We already had the .30-30 which is an awesome .30 caliber deer cartridge.

[lik2hunt]

"If you are having to get a rechamber anyway, how about the .30-40?"

IMO the .30-40 is the perfect .30 caliber cartridge for the Handi. 

Several of the guys over on the yahoo nef-singleshot group had their 30-30's rechambered to 30-40 Krag. After a little delay and lack of communication from the smith involved, all have their barrels back now and are quite happy with their performance. Makes one think.......... Hmmmmmmm.